Black Dutch
- noun
- /blæk dʌtʃ/
- Archaic
:
Black Dutch
- Many Southern families claim to have Black Dutch heritage in their family histories.
Examples
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The origins of the term Black Dutch remain controversial among historians.
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He told me that his grandmother always described their background as Black Dutch.
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The term Black Dutch was used in the 19th century.
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Many people identify as Black Dutch in their family histories.
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In the 1800s, some families in the South referred to their mixed background as Black Dutch.
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She discovered that her ancestors were often labeled Black Dutch, reflecting their diverse heritage.
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The phrase Black Dutch was historically used to describe individuals with mixed African and European ancestry.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Black + Dutch
A B1 learner who knows 'black' and 'Dutch' would most likely infer a literal meaning (a Black person from the Netherlands). The historical, euphemistic sense referring to ambiguous mixed ancestry is a language- and context-specific usage that cannot be predicted from the constituent words, so the phrase is idiomatic rather than compositionally transparent.
Etymology
Black Dutch may come from families in the United States who used the words Black and Dutch as a simple story to explain darker skin. By saying they were dark 'Dutch' instead of admitting other roots, people avoided questions, so today Black Dutch often means someone with 'mixed ancestry' or unclear family origins.
